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The Micah Parsons contract situation with the Dallas Cowboys has been dragged out across the entire offseason, and now it has reached a fever pitch. On Friday, the star pass rusher officially requested a trade from the franchise due to the inability to reach an extension with the franchise.
In a message that he posted himself on social media, Parsons used very strong language such as “I no longer want to play for the Dallas Cowboys.” Now, the trade market for one of the best players in football will start to heat up.
Of courses his trade request doesn't guarantee a deal. The Cowboys are standing firm for now and have no intention of trading Parsons, and the former Penn State star is going to continue coming to training camp in order to avoid fines. However, teams will surely be checking in frequently on the status of Parsons.
The 26-year old is on a historic pace so far in his young career, notching 52.5 sacks and nine forced fumbles in his first four seasons. He and Reggie White are the only two players to record 12 sacks in each of their first four years, and Parsons was still able to hit that benchmark despite missing four games last season.
Here are five teams that should be doing everything they can to get Parsons on their team.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers had a surprisingly good defense that overachieved last season, but they lost Joey Bosa to the Buffalo Bills this offseason. Regardless, it's clear that this unit is headed in the right direction under Jim Harbaugh and Jesse Minter.
If there was one weakness that stuck out for the Chargers defense last season, it wasn't any specific player or position group. It was that fact that they didn't necessarily have the horses and the talent on that side of the ball to allow Minter to run some of his unique looks that he excelled at in the college ranks at Michigan.
Adding one of the best pass rushers in the league would certainly fix that. The Chargers would be able to get pressure without blitzing, and Parsons' positional versatility from his time at Penn State would make him a perfect fit in Minter's defense.
Los Angeles has plenty of cap space available in the future, and is currently allocating almost no future money to its very young defense. That would make getting an extension done with Parsons very doable, and general manager Joe Horitz should be blowing up the phones trying to get a deal done.
Washington Commanders
The Commanders are dealing with a contract standoff and a trade request of their own after star wide receiver Terry McLaurin asked out on Thursday while holding out for a new deal.
It seems highly unlikely that Jerry Jones would want to trade Micah Parsons within the division in the NFC East, but the Commanders have a glaring need up front on the edge and adding Parsons would make them one of the favorites to come out of the NFC instantly. The star edge rusher would also certainly love to reunite with Washington head coach Dan Quinn, who coached him as the Dallas defensive coordinator for three seasons.
With McLaurin seemingly on the outs and quarterback Jayden Daniels entering just the second year of his rookie deal, the Commanders can easily make the money work for a Parsons extension. The Cowboys may hang up the phone instantly when they hear their division rivals calling, but it's at least worth the ask to see if you can engage in a Parsons negotiation.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens have historically loved to get after the quarterback in the past, but they are now stuck in a place where they don't have a go-to guy who does just that. Micah Parsons would fix that in a blink, and Baltimore should explore a trade if it is truly all-in about winning with Lamar Jackson at quarterback.
Making the money work would be much more difficult for the Ravens than it will be for the other teams on this list, in part due to Jackson's big contract. That might dissuade them from making a deal happen, but there's no question that adding Parsons to the team would be a huge boost on that side of the ball.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos already had one of the best defenses in football last season and have a lot of young, emerging pieces on that side of the ball, but there's never a reason to turn down extra pass rush help when you have to play against Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert four times a year.
Nik Bonitto broke out in 2024 as a bendy edge rusher who can get after the quarterback, especially on late downs, while Zach Allen was a force against the run and the pass from the interior. Putting Micah Parsons opposite Bonitto in Vance Joseph's funky defense would make the Broncos an absolute nightmare to throw the football against, even more than they already are.
The Broncos are another team, like the Commanders, who are operating with a rookie quarterback contract after an encouraging rookie season from Bo Nix. If they want to capitalize on the extra space that gives them to upgrade the rest of the roster, going after Parsons would be at the top of the priority list.
Detroit Lions
The Lions ranked near the bottom of the league last season with just 37 sacks, and the pass rush suffered especially after the gruesome injury to Aidan Hutchinson.
Detroit also lost defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn during the offseason after the longtime assistant left to become the new head coach of the New York Jets. In to replace him is first-time coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, who was the team's linebackers coach for the previous three seasons.
What better way to make a new coordinator's life easier than to give him one of the most disruptive forces in all of football on the edge? A healthy Micah Parsons-Aidan Hutchinson duo would certainly be the best pass-rushing tandem in the league and is an avenue that the Lions should absolutely explore as training camp heats up.
